Forever Embers in Our Orbit

By Camara Gaither

Some say that stars enter into existence
Through wreckage.
Named within a fragile nebula
A star is first a collapsed cloud.
Cold and compressed by gravity,
Yet somehow begins to burn
Beyond its own breaking,
Forever sketched upon the skin of sky.

Some say that stars
Are synonymous with angels.
A force that finds our eyes,
Gifting us a guide… to navigate darkness,
Giving us meaning beyond a manmade skyline.
We find… a warm witness to our worlds.

Some say the contents of a city
Are revealed within tragedy.
When a place can host sorrow thoughtfully,
A city shows itself.
When helpers and healers gather
To mend a wound and name a wrong
Without becoming one,
A city shows itself,
In how it honors and holds a memory.

We remember that evening
When evil turned a sanctuary into a siren.
We remember that night
When bigotry besieged a dance floor,
Snatched breath from our beloved.

And we remember
Those who survived,
Still carrying what carnage cost them each day,
Their storylines forever changed, yet not stolen.

And we remember
The humanity of every name
Before they became…  a news headline.
A people creating a life
Out of being themselves, unashamed.

The dance floor was their galaxy.
Mesmerized by melody,
Their smiles like crescent moons,
Their laughter like a trail of stardust
Spilled across our stratosphere.
Their bodies embraced,
Reaching for all the joy and love they could savor
From this universe.

We still speak
Their names as both music and memorial.

We still see them,
Luminous like the stars,
Feeling both near and far
Enough - To hold this grief and gratitude all at once,
Showing us how
A person’s presence can feel light years away
And right next to us at the same time.

They are
Forever embers in our orbit.
And we carry them,
Guiding us back to one another
Like constellations,
Showing us
How to keep choosing love and light.